Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Black Family

Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character
Black Family
Gender	Unapplicable
Hair color	Unknown
Eye color	Unknown
Related Family	The Weasleys, The Lestranges, The Crabbes, The Potters, The Malfoys, The Burkes, The Longbottoms, The Hitchens, The Flints, The Crouches
Loyalty	Death eaters/ Voldemort

Overview

The Black family were considered to be one of the noblest family in the wizarding world. They are very strict when it comes to blood status.

Role in the Books

Order of the Phoenix

At Christmas, Sirius Black shows Harry the Black family tree on a tapestry in the front parlor at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The members of the family that he mentions are Phineas Nigellus, Aunt Elladora, Araminta Meliflua, Alphard Black, his uncle, his parents Walburga and Orion, his brother Regulus, his cousins Bellatrix, Andromeda (who has had her spot on the tree burned off because she dated to marry "the Muggle Ted Tonks") and Narcissa, and Narcissa's son Draco Malfoy. This family tree is huge, and the motto is Toujours Pur - "Always Pure". Those like Andromeda and Sirius himself who have dared to consort with Muggles or the Muggle-born have been burned off the family tree, and the tapestry itself is apparently fastened to the wall with a Permanent Sticking Charm.

Strengths

The Black family seemed to have considerable magical strength. We see that Bellatrix (Lestrange) is an extremely powerful witch, and Sirius is quite able to hold his own with the other Marauders. It is also mentioned that Sirius' father had strengthened the protective spells on Number 12, Grimmauld Place, which we expect would take a rare strength, that building being so old and well-established.

Much of the perceived strength of character in the Black family was based on a belief in their own superiority due to being pure-blood wizards. While this may have made them appear stronger, it carries with it all the less savory aspects of nobility (looking down on others, treatment of those not blessed with pure blood as menials or subhuman) and so does not count particularly in their favour.

Weaknesses

There seems to have been a strain of mental instability that is expressed in the Black blood line. We see this to a great extent in the portrait of Sirius' mother, and in Bellatrix Lestrange, and to a lesser extent in Sirius himself. We can only speculate that this is at least in part due to the Black belief in pure-blood strength, and the resulting in-breeding; we will note in the Black family tree that both Sirius' parents are descended from Phineas Nigellus Black.

The Blacks seemed to have a surprisingly short life span for wizards. Most of the later generations were female and, with the death of Sirius near the end of Order of the Phoenix, the family name came to an end. The blood-line continues, however, through Nymphadora Tonks, child of Andromeda (Black) Tonks, and through Tonks' child, Teddy; and Draco Malfoy, son of Narcissa (Black) Malfoy.

Relationships with Other Characters

Family tree drawing (note: pending redrafting of the tree, we are using a Portuguese image, hence the odd spellings of the names):

Analysis

If nothing else, the Black family tree details just how inbred and intermarried the "pureblood" Wizards are – both of Sirius' parents are descended from Phineas Nigellus and his wife Ursula Flint. One point of interest is that Dorea Black married Charlus Potter, and they had one son – could that be James Potter, Harry's father? James was born, we think, about 1959, when Dorea would have been about 40, which is possible; though it is equally possible that Charlus is James' grandfather. Sirius did mention that he spent rather a lot of time over at James' parent's, presumably because he didn't get along with his parents; it's possible that James' mother was his aunt or great-aunt. The Family Tree would not show James Potter in any event, as he had committed the cardinal sin (in the Black family estimation) of marrying the Muggle-born Lily Evans.

It is curious that Harry did not see, or did not see fit to comment on, the presence of his own family name, when he saw the House of Black tapestry in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Other interesting names appear in this tapestry as well. Callidora, who was born in 1915 and is still alive, married Harfang Longbottom; what relationship are they to Neville Longbottom? Lucretia (1925 - 1992) married Ignatius Prewett; Molly Weasley gave this name to her son Percy as his middle name as it was her uncle's name. Charis (1919 - 1973) married one Caspar Crouch: Bartemius Crouch Sr.'s brother, perhaps? And there is passing mention of Ron's uncle, Septimus Weasley, who apparently married Cedrella Black (burn-mark 4).

Burn-mark 7, Andromeda "who married Muggle Ted Tonks", is Nymphadora Tonks' mother; Ted Tonks, is not a Muggle, though he was Muggle-born. Tonks did mention that she was related to the Black family.

Questions

1. Is Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's son, related to Harry Potter? If so, what is the relation?